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Topic: Kem Aqua Plus (Read 3488 times)

Has anyone sprayed Keg Aqua Plus White with an airless sprayer? I know most people suggest HVLP or AAA but I have a new Graco ProX17 and would like to use it if I could. The PDS from SW lists airless as an option at 1500-1800 psi and a tip size of .013-.015. I'm spraying kitchen cabinets.

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Do you have to use Kem Aqua? I would probably use Advance. Takes a bit longer to dry, but with a Airless, you can spray it on fairly thin and it is very tough.

I got the Kem Aqua Plus to try because I heard so many good things about it. I'm not very good with HVLP so I wanted to try the airless. I sprayed the cabinet boxes on Friday. I built up the finish with several light passes because I was worried about the thin coating on the vertical surfaces. It went well at first, then I got over zealous and got a few runs toward the end. All in all, it laid down well.

Is the Advance more durable than the KA+? Is it more forgiving with an airless sprayer?

Hmmm, well I don't think it is, Advance is slightly less brittle relatively speaking. Kem Aqua is acrylic based and Advance is an Alkyd based waterborne paint probably with a polyurethane. Fully cured both are very tough. Advance takes longer to dry but covers better. I have used Kem Aqua and acrylic based pigmented coatings more than Alkyd based coatings so I am partial to them.

Yes, for me the best way to get a good thin coat that doesn't take forever to dry is best applied with an airless or perhaps an AAA. The difference in overall finish quality and ease using an airless to spray Advance vs an HVLP is amazing. You can spray it with an HVLP, but I have to thin it and it's more difficult to get a perfect finish. Others such as @Scott Burt or @tjbnwi may have different experience.Tim

If you use Extreme Bond or any other primer for that matter on a previously painted surface and top coat with Kem Aqua Plus, then SW will place all the blame on you for not following their specifications if it fails.

I've been wanting to try Kem Aqua Plus, but all my cabinet jobs are re-paints. Personally, I'm not willing to take the risk of apply a product outside of the manufactures specifications unless it's common knowledge that an alternative system works. As far as I know this isn't the case with Kem Aqua Plus.

I suggest you talk to your sales rep. My sales rep and store manager is who turned me on to this. This was also confirmed from Sherwin Williams commercial coatings division. Kem Aqua has been around for a long time. Data sheets have not changed but newer products like Extreme Bonding primer has hit the market and changed a lot of things. I have done several repaints this way and no issues.Have your store demo you a gallon and try it for yourself. Scuff sand as normal, prime then do the fingernail test after it has cured. No need to apply the surfacer over the bonding primer. This of course only applies to repaints.